


the price of pearls

by xavsherr



Series: evermore. [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Black Selina Kyle, Bruce Wayne Has Feelings, Bruce Wayne Loves Selina Kyle, Bruce Wayne in a Wheelchair, Bruce Wayne is Not Batman, Drug Withdrawal, F/M, Families of Choice, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jewish Bruce Wayne, Lazarus Pit (DCU), Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Not Really Character Death, Not important yet but I want you to know, Protective Selina Kyle, Set Before Young Justice Season 1, Thomas Wayne's A+ Parenting, Will eventually go into the young justice universe if I continue, discussion of disability, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28459314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavsherr/pseuds/xavsherr
Summary: Bruce Wayne is supposed to be dead. Somehow, he lives a happier life because of it.Or, how Bruce saves himself from his past, falls in love, gets justice, and becomes a vigilante, not necessarily in that order.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Martha Wayne & Thomas Wayne, Harvey Dent & Bruce Wayne, Ra's al Ghul & Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Series: evermore. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084544
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	the price of pearls

March 11, 1997 / Gotham City, New Jersey 

Selina Kyle had stolen many things in her relatively short life, but she had the feeling that today’s heist would be her best. Wayne Manor was empty, and although it’s seemingly impenetrable security system was the mark of a man with ridiculous paranoia, she had a failsafe measure to take it down. Selina could only dream about the valuables, the gold and silver inside the mansion of Gotham’s most infamous son. Wayne was notoriously reclusive, and it was rare for him to leave his estate, or at least for his absence to be noted. When the word, and photo proof, that Wayne was in Bialya got around the Gotham Underworld, Selina knew it was her time to strike. It was time for her to add some crown jewels, or perhaps crown pearls, to her collection. 

As she climbed the outer wall of the property, Selina noted how dark the manor was, as if there was no effort to hide the only resident’s absence. Wayne may be paranoid, but he was also overly confident in the dependability of his security measures. He must have had no idea about the lines of code making it through the ranks of Gotham’s crime families, zeros and ones that could take out the most elite security system money could buy, code on a hard drive that Selina had nabbed from Penguin, who had nabbed it from Falcone, who had nabbed it from the Maronis, who had gotten it from a hacker on the dark web. It was the greatest trophy of her stolen goods, and she had already used it against Penguin, Falcone, and the Maronis. 

It had been too easy to attach the drive to a hidden electrical box about thirty yards from the front gate and listen to the slight hum of power fade. It only lasted an hour, but that was more than enough time for Selina to get in and out. Using this drive, she could rob a place blind right under the nose of Batman himself, and he would be none the wiser. The Caped Crusader had never caught her yet, and he never would. 

Wayne had gotten rid of his staff nearly a decade ago, so there was no soul to worry about spotting her as she snuck around the overgrown ornamental bushes and flower patches. Gardeners only came twice a year to straighten the place up and keep the plant life under control, and they weren’t due for a month. Any evidence of Selina’s presence would be gone by then. Selina kept reminding herself of these facts as she stuck a blade under a first-floor window, and worked the lock open. Selina knew logically that she was alone, but she felt some unspeakable presence in the air. Her feet hit the marble floor of a vast empty room, and she cursed as the sound echoed. Three golden chandeliers glimmered in the moonlight, and the white marble etched with gold reflected her dark catsuit and night vision goggles. Selina turned to a mirrored wall and admired her hair, which she had in Bantu knots. Here, at this moment, Selina could imagine that this was her house, her golden chandeliers, marble floors, and mirrored walls. This dream came crashing down when she heard what sounded like the squeaking of a wheel. 

Selina froze, and knelt down, backing up towards the window she entered through. Holding her breath, she waited for a moment that felt endless. She could hear nothing but the white noise within her own skull, and she put the sound out of her mind. Old houses make their own noise, right? They need to settle, or something like that. She took delicate steps towards the door leading out to what she assumed was a grand ballroom, and found herself in what looked like a foyer, with a grand staircase covered with a worn red velvet carpet leading upwards. The stairs creaked under her feet. Wayne had clearly not been taking care of the place, and what a shame it was. The manor was one of the most beautiful places Selina had been, and it was falling fast into disrepair. As she edged her way into what Selina knew was Wayne’s personal office, where he kept the safe full of his most valuable possessions, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. A manor as old as this one must be filled with spirits. 

Selina took in the room, full of old books and furniture of dark oak. The shadows were still, and Selina gave them no notice, only a simple glance over. It was no time for her to search for phantoms that weren’t really there. There, against the far wall, was a side table just big enough to hide a safe. With a practiced swiftness, Selina pounced towards it, silently retrieving her tools to crack it from her belt. She engrossed herself in her work, not noticing the shadows solidify into a haggard figure. 

“I knew you would come.” Selina jumped and turned to see a man sitting next to the room’s only window. She rushed towards the entrance, cursing her carelessness and bad info. “Wait!” He exclaimed. Selena paused, hearing the desperation in his voice. Facing away from the man, she considered what she had already heard from him. How did he know she would come?

“Who are you?” 

“Please”, he begged, ignoring her question. “You can take anything you want. Just take me with you.” Now, that was interesting. Selina turned and looked at the man. His long dark hair fell over his bright green eyes, and she could see a faint hope within them. He couldn’t be any older than her. 

“I said, who are you?” 

“I’m the one who wrote that code that got you in here. The same one that helped you get into Penguin’s place, helped you get that ruby necklace from Falcone, and the diamond from the Maronies.” 

“Are you trying to threaten me?” 

“What?” the man sharply inhaled, “no, no, no. I’ve just been watching you. You’re good at what you do. I want your help. I want to get out of here. You can take anything you want from the safe, the cash and Mom’s necklace, but please, take me with you.” Selina flinched back, then adjusted her goggles to study the man’s face more. He had Thomas Wayne’s sharp jawline and Martha Wayne’s soft eyes. She had seen them in pictures hundreds of times, celebrating Thomas Wayne giving money in the name of his late wife and son, who had been murdered almost a decade ago. The son that Selina then realized was in front of her. 

“You’re Bruce Wayne,” she breathed, “you’re supposed to be dead.” The man froze, and Selina realized he wasn’t actually sitting down but was in a wheelchair. She filed this information away for later. 

“Yes, I’m Bruce Wayne. I don’t know how or why I’m alive, but I think my Father faked my death. I’m sorry, there’s not much else I can give you to help me besides the contents of that safe. And maybe one of the cars. He’s been drugging me for years, telling me that I’m sick and that I can’t walk and do things for myself, but I can -” Selina interrupted. 

“What do you mean, you knew I would come?” Bruce gave her a sheepish look.

“I’ve been following your work online for a few years now. It was simple to connect all your robberies together, they were mostly thefts of valuable jewels belonging to rich people in the dead of night, with no one hurt. In and out so fast that not even Batman could get you. I sold the code to the Maronies over the dark web, because I knew Falcone would steal it from them, and then Penguin would steal it from Falcone. Penguin would brag about his catch, then you’d hear about it. I knew it would only be a matter of time until you came here, and I could persuade you to help me.” 

“Why didn’t you just use the code to get yourself out?”

“It had to come from the outside. I couldn’t make it outside the front door of this place without tripping something if I tried, and if I implanted code on the system on our end, the whole house would go on lockdown and Father would be flying back here within seconds.” 

“How did you know I wouldn’t just kill you?” 

“It’s not your MO. You don’t want to hurt people.” Selina considered his words carefully. 

“You’re right, I don’t. You’re saying that I can take anything I want, and you won’t say anything as long as I take you too?”

“That’s right,” Bruce said with a smile. 

“Alright,” Selina said, moving back towards the safe. “I guess I better keep cracking.” 

“The password is 091949, by the way.” Selina moved the lock to the numbers Bruce provided, and it swung open. Selina looked over her shoulder at him, as he rolled his wheelchair towards her. “I don’t really need it,” he assured her. “I’m just trying to save my strength. I’ve been living in it since I was nine, so my legs are kind of weak.” Selina quickly scooped the safe’s contents into her arms, taking in alongside rolls of cash three jeweled rings, a diamond bracelet, and Martha Wayne’s famous pearl necklace. Bruce gently removed the necklace from her grasp, and before Selina could protest he had clasped it around her neck. “It looks better on you than stuck in a safe,” he said gently. Selina felt an odd warmth in her stomach but quickly forced the feeling away. 

“How do you want to get out of here?” Asked Selina. 

“The garage is an outer building on the right side of the house,” Selina remembered seeing it as she snuck inside. “The fastest way to get there is through the front door. I have the keys to the black BMW M3 in my bag. The gates aren’t turned on, so we can just push them open to get out.” Selina noted a fancy looking dark backpack hanging from the back of the wheelchair. Bruce was yet to stand up, and she was getting a little worried about how she would get him downstairs and in the car. 

“Are you planning to take that with you?” She asked, nodding towards the chair. “Because it’ll fit if you need it, but I don’t know how to get you downstairs if you’re staying in it.” 

“I can walk, I’m just not very good at it.” His face turned red. “I’ve been practicing. Don’t make fun of me, ok?” Before Selina could respond, he lifted himself from the chair with his arms, which Selina noted were muscled. He took a few weak steps towards the door, reminding her of a baby lamb. He turned back towards her, looking down at where she still knelt by the safe and smiled. At that moment, Selina decided that it wasn’t the pearls around her neck that were priceless, but instead the smile of the man before her. Bruce reached out his hand towards her, and she took it, lifting herself up from her crouch. 

Selina supported Bruce as he slowly made his way down the grand staircase. He remarked to her that he hadn’t been downstairs or upstairs in years, but had been trapped on the second floor of the manor. Selina felt rage towards Thomas Wayne build within her. Here was this man, donating money to orphan’s funds and the homeless, convincing the world that while he was a capitalistic asshole he was still an ok person, hurting his son and pretending he was dead. Selina could tell that there was so much pain within Bruce and wondered at how he kept some light in his eyes. Selina realized that she was probably the first person Bruce had spoken to in person, besides his father, in years. Bruce was probably a very good actor because there was no way he was ok. 

Once they got to the garage, Bruce separated himself from Selina and tossed her the keys. 

“You have your license, right?” She nodded and ducked into the driver's seat. Selina had been in many mansions and manors of Gotham’s elite, but never in a luxury car. She carefully fingered the leather steering wheel of the small, boxy BMW, and took a deep breath to ground herself, momentarily ignoring the man in the passenger seat. She contemplated what she had gotten herself into. Somehow, she knew that her life had just become irreparably tied to Bruce Wayne’s. She started the car, and as she drove away from Wayne Manor, eyeing the man beside her, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've written a lot over quarantine, but this is the only thing I feel ok enough to publish. I have the entire story outlined, but it may take me a while to finish it! I hope you liked it, and let me know your thoughts in the comments :)


End file.
